It is known to have galleys in airplanes, including those positioned at the rear (or “aft”) of an airplane. Galleys serve multiple purposes. One purpose is to store mobile service carts that contain food, beverages and other supplies for passengers on the aircraft. The galley also serves as a preparation and work area for the attendants working on the aircraft in order to prepare food or beverages for the passengers.
The number of galleys and mobile service carts varies for different aircraft and are generally related to the size of the aircraft and the number of passenger seats. Small aircraft often have only one galley and 1-2 mobile service carts. Large “jumbo” aircraft with several hundred seats (e.g. 350-400 plus passengers) can have up to 3-4 galleys and may utilize over 20 mobile service carts. For middle market aircraft holding 190-300 passengers, typically three galleys are provided. One of the three galleys is positioned in the forward area of the aircraft (to serve first class passengers), one is positioned in the middle portion of the aircraft and one is positioned in the aft section of the aircraft. All of the galleys, particularly those in the small and mid-market aircraft, are typically small in size creating cramped working conditions for the attendants. One of the primary reasons that the galleys are small is to maximize the number of passenger seats on the aircraft, and hence maximize revenue for the airline.
In a typical aft galley of an aircraft, two parallel straight rows of cart storage compartments are provided. The two rows of storage compartments define a center aisle that dead-ends at the rear wall of the aircraft. There is room for only two attendants to work comfortably within the aisle. Typically, one attendant will work on each side of the aisle. Mobile service carts are removed from the storage compartments when it is time to serve the passengers.
There is a need for a more efficient and convenient layout of the storage compartments for the mobile service carts, particularly in mid-market aircraft. Also, it would be advantageous if the galleys allowed more than two attendants to work comfortably within the space and provided a more efficient arrangement for maneuvering the carts into and out of the storage compartments without inconveniencing the other attendants. Further, it would be advantageous to reduce or consolidate the number of galleys on an aircraft, which would allow for more seating for passengers in the aircraft.
Further, it is desirable to possibly have the aft galley of an aircraft serve as a common area for passengers to congregate, converse and/or relax.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved galley for a passenger aircraft, particularly for a mid-market aircraft. It is another object of the present invention to reduce the number of galleys on an aircraft and thus to provide more floor space for passenger seating.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved galley for a passenger aircraft, which has increased capacity for the storage of mobile service carts. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved galley for a passenger aircraft, particularly for mid-market aircraft, which has a larger workspace for attendants.
These and other objects of the present invention are met by the present invention as set forth herein, as shown in the attached drawings and as claimed in the appended claims.